Species Hunted
Dunedin River Outfitters is well known for its healthy population of ungulates and predators.
Canadian Moose
- In recent decades, moose have been one of the most important game species in British Columbia
providing more meat than all other ungulates combined.
- Moose is the most distributed ungulate in B. C. with a population estimated at 170,000 and of which,
70% are in the northern part of the province.
- Dunedin has an excellent herd of trophy class bulls. Our bulls range from 45 (115 cm) to 60 inches
(155 cm) with some taken even larger.
- We are fortunate to have an early season hunt in our area which allows for any bull to be taken. This
hunt runs the last two weeks of August.
- Starting early September until the end of October is our trophy moose hunt. Rules are in effect.
A hunter can only take an animal having antlers with at least 3 points (tines) on one brow palm
(Tripalm bull moose) OR having at least one antler with a minimum of 10 points (tines), including
the brow palm.
- Depending on the weather, the rut for moose and elk usually starts around mid-September. This makes for
an excellent combination hunt.
- We hunt in wetlands, burns, logged areas, lower parts of avalanche tracks, and in the sub-alpine
spruce willow zones.
- Our hunts have an excellent success rate and our trophy animals are known to be of high quality in size.
- The hunting methods in use are: ground blinds, calling, spotting and stalking.
Rocky Mountain Elk
- Elk is an important game animal in British Columbia prized for its meat and antlers.
- It is the province's second largest ungulate, moose being the first.
- Though highly regulated, the elk population is very healthy.
- Experts estimate the province holds 40,000 elk with the most numerous and major concentration being
in the northern area.
- Dunedin is home to numerous and some of the most superb looking animals you will ever see.
- We have 2 types of elk hunts. We have 3 points bull hunts at the end of August and early September.
We also have 6 points bull hunts at the beginning of September until the end of October. In proceeding in
this manner, Dunedin ensures for a healthy population of old bulls to hunt year after year.
- Expect to ride in the dark. Elk loves early morning and evening hours. A hunter's day usually begins
1 to 2 hours before daylight. By mid-afternoon each hunter and guide depart a second time from camp by
horse. The evening hunt lasts until dusk, at which time hunters and guides return to camp.
- Elk commonly form large social groups and often share their range with other ungulates such as deer. If
luck is on his side, a hunter gets to choose attentively his prized animal.
- Elk is found in a variety of habitats but generally likes mountain slopes, burn areas and grassy interior
valleys with scattered tree cover.
- Depending on the weather, the rut for moose and elk usually starts around mid-September. This makes
for an excellent combination hunt.
- Our hunts have an extremely high success rate and some of our trophy animals make the book.
- The hunting methods in use are: bugling, spotting and stalking.
Grizzly Bear
- The Grizzly is the 2nd largest land predator in North America and is widely distributed throughout British Columbia.
- The grizzly bear is found in 80% of the province but primarily lives in the Rocky Mountains and northern boreal forests.
- With a minimum of 13,800 grizzlies at home in B.C., Dunedin has the good fortune of having a very stable grizzly bear population in its own territory.
- The grizzly in our area are very large with all the ungulates for them to feed on. Maximum weights of 500 kg (1,100 lbs) have been recorded in the Peace Region area.
- Grizzly colors can range from creamy yellow to almost black. In the Rocky Mountains the color tends towards being dark with a silver tipped pattern.
- The grizzly bear, a solitary animal by nature, is classified as a carnivore yet it eats a wide variety of food making it an omnivore. Grizzlies likes to forage at a variety of elevations. He is usually spotted in the rugged terrain of upper slopes and basins or in the valley bottoms of drainages.
- A spring hunting trip is held during the 2nd week of May just after the bear starts coming out of his mountain den. At this time of year, the fur is in excellent shape.
- A spring bear hunt tends to be much more relaxed. The days are long and a bear is very active covering great distances to feed. A regular day begins at dawn so we can check slides and valleys near camp. We usually return to camp in the late morning for lunch and a rest before leaving camp mid-afternoon and staying out until dusk. Some days we may bring a lunch and stay out all day roving either the main valleys or the sides of drainages.
- Dunedin offers a spring grizzly hunt in combination with black bear and wolf and in the fall, a grizzly hunt in combination with moose, elk, deer, black bear and wolf.
- Harvest is very strictly regulated. Dunedin River will only harvest a boar grizzly bear and will not let a hunter shoot a lone bear if we feel it might be mistaken for a female.
- Our hunts have a very high success rate and our trophy animals are known to be of excellent size.
- A grizzly hunt is usually 10 days and is conducted in the same manner as a black bear using the spot and stalk technique.
Black Bear
- The population of black bear in B.C. is at a historic high, estimating 120,000 to 160,000 bears in the province. The black bear is the most widely distributed mammal in B.C. forests.
- Dunedin doesn't suffer a shortage of these critters. Our black bear population is in great shape.
- A black bear is not always black. Other color phases that occur include cinnamon, brown and blonde.
- A black bear is particularly attracted to foods that are abundant, low in fibre, easily digestible, high in protein and energy and that can be reached with little energy expenditure.
- Home ranges are usually made up of several feeding areas connected by travel routes. The trails are often located in wooded areas that provide cover as a black bear will often avoid open spaces when moving from one feeding site to another.
- A black bear, a solitary animal by nature, is classified as a carnivore yet it eats a wide variety of food making it omnivorous.
- A spring hunting trip is held during the 2nd week of May just after the bear starts coming out of his mountain den. At this time of year the fur is in excellent shape.
- A spring bear hunt tends to be much more relaxed. The days are long and a bear is very active covering great distances to feed. A regular day begins at dawn so we can check slides and valleys near camp. We usually return to camp in the late morning for lunch and a rest before leaving camp mid-afternoon and staying out until dusk. Some days we may bring a lunch and stay out all day roving either the main valleys or the side of drainages.
- Habitats a black bear uses are as varied as the food it eats: forest, wetlands, sub-alpine meadows, avalanche chutes, grassy slopes, burned areas and shore lines of lakes and rivers.
- Dunedin offers a spring black bear hunt in combination with grizzly and wolf. In the fall, a black bear hunt is offered in combination with moose, elk, deer, grizzly bear and wolf.
- Our hunts have a very high success rate and our trophy animals are known to be of excellent size.
- A black bear hunt is usually 10 days and is conducted in the same manner as grizzly bear using the spot and stalk technique.
Deer
- Deer is the most prolific big game animal in Canada including British Columbia.
- The animal is not considered a species at risk.
- About 20,000 to 25,000 deer occupy the northern areas of B.C.
- A deer travels alone or in small groups and often shares its range with other ungulates.
- Deer can adapt to varied climates and inhabit all types of ecological zones, from alpine to valley bottoms. The animal is completely at home in remote valleys and wilderness areas.
- It can be hunted in conjunction with either elk, moose, caribou, bear, sheep and wolf.
- Depending on the zone and the hunt dates, we harvest bucks with a minimum of 3 or 4 points on at least 1 antler.
- Our hunts have a very high success rate.
- The hunting methods in use are: antler rubbing, spotting and stalking.
Caribou
- B.C. has a population of over 16,500 caribou.
- Caribou are a medium sized member of the deer family.
- An estimated 2,500 to 3,500 animals inhabit the Peace Region.
- Caribou live in the most severe environmental conditions and occupy the most restrictive northern niches in the world.
- Caribou occur throughout the secluded spots of the boreal and sub-alpine forests.
- This animal needs large ranges of contiguous suitable habitat with little or no disturbance in order to spread out and avoid predators.
- Primarily grazers by nature, caribou eat tree lichens 8 months of the year. It depends on lichens such as witch's hair and old man's beard that are found in old growth forests.
- In the fall, a caribou moves down to low elevations where it over-winters before moving back up to higher elevations in late spring and summer.
- Caribou travel in very small groups. Thus it is possible to spot several prized animals all at once.
- Caribou cannot tolerate the same high levels of hunting as other members of the deer family.
- Hunts for caribou are highly regulated. Dunedin is fortunate to offer an early season velvet hunt which allows for any bull to be taken. This hunt runs the last 2 weeks of August.
- The whole month of September is our trophy taking season where only 5 point and larger bulls can be bagged.
- Dunedin can offer a caribou hunt in combination with several other ungulates and predators.
- Our hunts have a very good success rate.
- A caribou hunt is conducted in the same manner as other ungulates using the spot and stalk technique.
Stone Sheep
- Stone sheep is the most highly prized trophy hunt offered in British Columbia. Hunters like to call this animal the "true mammal of the mountains".
- Experts estimate the present B.C. population to be roughly 3,100 animals.
- A stone sheep's coat is generally dark gray to black, but the color may include silver gray, yellowish brown, or almost white.
- A sheep sheds its winter coat in June or July and looks shabby and untidy until the new coat grows back in. This is a good reason why many hunters like to hunt sheep in late summer and fall.
- The ram doesn't annually shed its horns like other ungulates such as elk, moose and deer. The horns continue to grow throughout the sheep's life but growth slows down during the winter season. A ring is what indicates the animal's age. Though rare nowadays, some ram horns have been known to reach 48 inches (122 cm) from base to tip.
- A stone sheep has concave hooves with rough pads that provide good footing on rocky terrain. The hooves allow a sheep to establish its range in the high alpine zone anywhere from 300 m to 2,200 m in elevation. This animal loves to live dangerously as it seeks out treeless ranges with little or no cover, conveniently placed close to cliffs for shelter and grazing.
- A sheep feeds by moving between traditional seasonal ranges. It relies on low growing grasses, herbs, sedges, sprouted willow and poplar leaves.
- Stone sheep is among the most social of British Columbia's hoofed animals. Ram groups have well developed social rules and a dominant hierarchy in which a ram's size, mainly the dimension of his horns, determines his place in the hierarchy. During most of the year, ewes and rams occupy separate ranges. As a rule, many veteran hunters know too well that a big ram is seldom on his own and it's good practice to always look around.
- In late summer and fall, sheep are often spotted in openings next to "salt licks", rugged breaks and terraces, rocky outcrops, burns, grasslands, streams and rock slides.
- These are tough hunts. The better shape you are in, the more pleasant the experience and more improved are your chances of a successful hunt.
- We will use horses and backpacking. Customers are fortunate to have log cabins or wall tents a very short distance from the hunting sites.
- Dunedin has its own secret niches where a hunter can find a quality ram. We will provide you with a good chance of harvesting a ram; nonetheless, the final result depends to great extent on your physical condition and your shooting abilities.
- We can offer a sheep hunt in combination with many other ungulates and predators.
- Our hunts have a very good success rate and some of our trophy animals do make the book.
- A sheep hunt is conducted with plenty of patience and good knowledge of the spot and stalk technique.
Wolf
- The wolf is found in most areas of Canada.
- Wolves are very plentiful in northern British Columbia including the Dunedin area where they have plenty of ungulates and small mammals to feed on.
- Ungulates comprise 80% of the wolf's diet.
- Weight varies from 57 to 170 lbs (26 - 77 kg).
- The animal's coat can range from coal black to creamy white.
- A wolf pack's hunting area can occupy 100 to 300 square miles (165 - 500 square km).
- This animal is smart and a well organized predator. Hunting together in packs, members can catch much larger prey than when hunting alone. Wolves prefer to chase young, old and sick animals. On occasions, they've been known to even tackle a full grown moose and elk.
- A wolf likes to occupy grasslands, forests and stream side woodlands.
- Dunedin River's wolf season spreads over a 10 month period. The wolf makes for a good combination hunt with other species.
